2006 Dodge Stratus LX review from North America

The brakes are terrible. Just bad design; nothing to be fixed at the shop, really.

I rented this car for a week, but did not buy it. I am/was considering purchasing a car. I've owned an older Dodge before (1987 Lancer) and I'm still driving an even older Mercedes now (1984 W123 series coupe). I like some of the new offerings by Dodge, so when I had the chance to rent one I did.

The quality and variety of the Dodge lineup improved notably since the K-Car era of the eighties, which doesn't say much to those of us unfortunate enough to have owned one of them. However, the interior components of the Stratus were much more durable and better arranged than in the (dodgy) Dodges of old. The association with Daimler-Benz might have paid some dividends after all. I have to wonder, though, how much longer Dodge can improve now that Daimler gave Dodge the axe after another year of billion-dollar losses.

Whatever improvements might have been bestowed upon the Stratus by Daimler-Benz, brakes are not one of them. The brakes on the Stratus are terrible! Drums in the rear and weak discs up front make for a very spongy stop, requiring extra distance in the California wine country hills where I drove the car nearly a week. The rotors were also slightly warped (at 29k miles), as evident from the mild shaking that occurred during braking at highway speeds. The brakes on my last Dodge did the exact same thing at a similar mileage point - not sure why Dodge chose the braking area to save some money on cost, but it's the wrong place to do it.

On the plus side, air conditioning is quite good, engine power is adequate, and cargo space is about expected for a car of this class. Road noise, however (not noise from the engine, just ambient tire, wind and other noise) is high, though it may be expected in a car at this price point. Nevertheless, the car felt chincy the more I drove it. Of particular annoyance is the habit of American cars like the Stratus to have doors with some cheap spring in the hinge, causing the door to bounce back and hit you in the face when opened from the inside. The purpose of this spring is to hold the door open, but it's useless and ought to be eliminated. The Japanese don't do it; neither should the USA.

I would have to compare a similarly priced Toyota or Honda to see if improvements could be made in this price range. Though I think the Stratus is a good value, there are probably better cars for the money and the Stratus probably wouldn't be my top choice. This isn't easy for me to write - I really want to start liking American cars again enough to buy them. (I mean real American, not "Japanese built in Ohio American")